airahcaz

1998 GS400

Started with OEM Lexus 16's, upgraded to aftermarket Vault rims on 235/45 17. Hated the ride. Went to 245/45 17, improved a little. Still feel the difference and want my Lexus ride back. I don't think I can get a higher sidewall than 245/45 17 without rubbing, so my only resolution is back to 16's?

I see wheels 16 x 7.5 OEM, and 16 x 7. How does losing the half inch affect my vehicle?

whitels

With 16s, the 0.5 inch difference shouldn't matter in terms of ride comfort. The rim diameter is more a function of how wide the tire you're going to install. If you're after the ride, the taller sidewall of the 16 is what matters. Let us know what you've decided on.

airahcaz

so with 16 x 7, I should get a higher sidewall with OEM 225/55 16, than with OEM 16 x 7.5, thus a smoother ride but less handling and performance, is that the sole compromise? Should I use a diff tire size with 16 x 7's?

airahcaz

If I am experiencing a rough ride with 245/45 17 on 17 x 7.5, can I go to 17 x 7 rims and see a difference?

whitels

How about a 225/60-16 on the OEM 16 rims? There's a lot of choices in that tire size and it's been pretty successful with the LS400 (95-00) in terms of ride noise and quality.

airahcaz

There is no doubt OEM 225/55 16 will give the best ride for the GS, 225/60 is even smoother I would guess, but then performance is given away slightly. So the best mix is OEM. The real question is can anyone say they have as smooth or even slighlty less smooth a ride with 17's?

GS400_PUSHER

I don't think my ride is rough with my 17inch GS wheels. Thought the 17 inch lexus wheels are 8 1/2 wide anyways.

IndyHitMan

I have a 1998 GS400 and I love the car but I'm not sure about the ride. I mean it rides fine on the 17 inch wheels but I have road noise from them. I'm riding on Yokohama's and the ride is smooth. No bumps and unstableness but it's just the noise. I was told by my Lexus dealership (Tom Wood) here in Indianapolis, IN to go to a Michelin tire that gives good performance and I won't have to worry about the noise like I do now. Only thing is I'm knee deep in tread and will have to wear these puppies out first. Anyone have any other suggestions or ideas? Anyone else having the same problem? Sounds like it's common on GS with 17's.

airahcaz

Definitely change the tires. Sell your current ones on eBay. Other than that, a softer ride if desired can only be accomplished with 16's.

blue wax

I'm on 17x8 and the ride is quiet smooth..........but as I already mentioned in another thread, just see if you can get the 235x4.5 semperit tires, the sport ones for +270Km/h. they are really quiet and have a lot of grip on wet and dry. Just check if they're available in the USA !!
I had bridgestone potenza before these are better, really.

Mateo

I have the same tire noise problem with my 98GS4. I am running the Lexus 17" optional rim with Potenza RE730 235/45/17 tires. I hear the howl from about 10mph to 25mph and then it goes away at higher speeds. BTW, the tires have about 12K on them. I have considered swapping the RE730's for some Yoko DBs or Toyo's, but I still have a ton of tread left and don't want to throw away good (although noisy) tires. I plan to just live with the noise until the tires need replacing and then switch then.

What type of Yokohama's do you have now? What type of Michelins are you considering?